Marriage was a central topic for Kierkegaard,
both personally and philosophically, that is found throughout his writings. A
combination of his own failed engagement to Regina Olsen and the Romantic
attitude of his time led Kierkegaard to some deep considerations of the concept
of marriage. Against the lessening of social norms regarding marriage
Kierkegaard holds the Eros, the aesthetic principle of love, can only be fully
developed and realized within marriage. In fact, Kierkegaard thought so highly
of marriage as the complete harmonious realization of the aesthetical and
ethical elements in humans, that he himself gave up on achieving such perfection.
Perhaps this is the source of his famous quote about marriage in
"Either/Or":